3 Changes To Social Security in 2024 That Can Help You Get Extra SSI Money
A disabled senior man in wheelchair indoors playing with a pet dog at home.
Social Security recipients who also qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits can get bigger payments this year thanks to changes implemented for 2024. Most of the changes follow the usual yearly pattern of getting extra money due to inflation, but one is the result of a new policy announced by the Social Security Administration.
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That policy, announced on June 24, could help more people qualify for disability benefits. As CBS News reported, the change involves a practice used by the SSA to determine whether a disability applicant could find another job based on their abilities, which could result in a rejection of benefits.
The SSI program provides a monthly benefit to qualifying adults and children with a disability. SSI payments are also made to seniors age 65 and older who meet the financial qualifications even if they’re not disabled. You might be eligible for SSI benefits even if you already receive Social Security Disability Insurance or retirement benefits.
Here’s a look at three changes in 2024 that can help you get extra SSI money.
A Wider Pool of Potential Beneficiaries
In a June 24 news release, the SSA said it identified 114 occupations that exist in “very limited numbers” in each of the nine U.S. Census divisions. Based on that finding, the agency will not use these occupations to support a “not disabled” finding at the last step in the evaluation process for disability determinations.
“It makes sense to identify occupations that now exist in very limited numbers in the national economy,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement. “By making this update, our decision makers will no longer cite these jobs when denying a disability application.”
The bottom line is that by identifying these occupations, there should be fewer disability applicants being denied SSI benefits.
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COLA Increase
This year’s 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment applies to both regular Social Security benefits and SSI benefits. Higher payments to roughly 7.5 million SSI recipients began on Dec. 29, 2023, according to the SSA. The average SSI payment was $697.47 a month as of May 2024.
Higher SSI Payment Standards
For individuals who receive SSI benefits in addition to Social Security, the SSI Federal Payment Standard rose to $943 a month in 2024 vs. $914 in 2023. For couples, the standard rose to $1,415 a month from $1,371 last year.
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